Big Brother Hotshots – Housemates’ Extraordinary Names

As the house heats up, and Africa picks their favourites, we all become more comfortable with the extraordinary names of the housemates. One of the representatives has even been assigned a nickname, that of Small Pepper for Esther. With her tiny figure and fiery zeal it’s easy to understand how this moniker came about. It has become so popular, that very few people refer to her as Esther anymore.

Housemates and viewers alike have been having a lot of fun with Permithias’ name. From spelling it wrong to saying it wrong, no one can get it right. Permithias has not been too perturbed about the errors – he’s happy as long as people say it “sexily”.

It’s an intriguing name, derived from Prometheus, a mythological Greek Titan who gave the knowledge of fire to mankind. Considering Permithias’ titanic personality, it’s a fitting title. Moreover, the name means “foresight”, and that’s certainly a useful quality to have for Big Brother Africa.

Many, including Biggie himself, have enquired about Mr. 265’s name. It may sound odd, but it’s not just a random number. Two-six-five is the area dialling code for Malawi, which is where Mr. 265 comes from. Using it as his nickname it a source of patriotic pride, and the great thing about an unusual name, is that it’s a conversation starter.

A popular habit amongst viewers, started in days gone by with the Beniffer and Brangelina craze, is stringing together the names of favoured housemates. A few that have been mashed together across social platforms include: Macky2 and Resa, from Zambia; Lilian and Tayo, from Nigeria; Samantha and Nhlanhla, from South Africa and potential lovebirds Goitse and Idris, as well as Luis and Mira. The trend has clearly been to pair countrymen (and women), as well as flirting favourites.

Do you think any other nicknames and mash-ups will emerge from the house?